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By H.G. Dr Geevarghese Mar Osthathios
The Trinity is eternally holy and not made holy. The saints are not holy in the sense God is holy, they are made holy by the Holy Trinity. Thus we use the word holy in two different meanings when it is applied for God and applied for anything or any one in the created order. The Holy Bible speaks of holy mountain (Ps. 87: 1), most holy things (Nu. 4: 4), holy day (Ex. 35:2), holy covenant (Dan 11:28), holy calling (II Tim. 1:9), holy apostles and prophets (Rev. 18:20), holy flock (Ezek 36: 38), holy nation (I Pet. 2: 9), holy people (Is. 62: 12).
It is significant that when the priest says, 'holy things to holy people', in the Holy Eucharist, the reply of the saints is 'None is holy except Holy Father....' If one approaches the Holy Table saying 'I am holy and worthy and so give me the Holy elements', he is certainly unworthy to receive the Holy Qurbana.
Saints are the dedicated children of God who know that they are unworthy even for the least of the blessings of God. When we say that the church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic, we know that all these four notes of the church are not manifest to the world and yet these notes are that of the Head, Jesus Christ, which the body is humbly claming and aspiring to reach in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Similarly the saints are those who are being sanctified through the holy sacraments, holy meditation etc., by the Holy Spirit. Saints are called saints by others and not by themselves, for they know that they are sinners as long as they live in the fallen world and have not attained the ideal set for them by God and the society. In the N. T. all the Christians, the believers, the baptized community are called saints (Rom. 1: 7; I Cor. 1: 2; II Cor. 1: 1 etc.). The church, however, has seen special sanctity in a few and even declared some as saints. Our Church has declared Mar Gregorios of Parumala as saint. The Orthodox churches do not have the tedious and long processes of canonization of saints on the basis of the number of miracles and other detailed studies. The last and ultimate Judge is, of course, God alone.
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